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HDD not recognised in UEFI |
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stugib 
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Joined: 24 Oct 2015 Status: Offline Points: 4 |
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 Topic: HDD not recognised in UEFIPosted: 24 Oct 2015 at 5:36am |
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Hi, have sent this to support but hope someone here might be able to help. I've recently purchased a Beebox N3000 barebones mini PC and 8Gb RAM and a 2.5" HDD to add to it. It's a 750Gb Western Digital WD7500BPVX which I believe is SATA III. The HDD is not being recognised when trying to install Windows 7 64-bit (I have created a bootable USB with the USB 3.0 drivers as advised in the user manual so I can start the installation process) - it just doesn't list any hard drives to install to when I get to that step. It doesn't look like the HDD is being recognised in the UEFI either: * On the Advanced\Storage Configuration screen it says SATA3_1: Not Detected. * I have SATA Controller(s) enabled. * AHCI mode is selected but disabled so cannot be changed. * I can hear the HDD is spinning up. * This is a brand new HDD and is not formatted but I assume the Windows installation will be able to do this if I can get that far. The UEFI is up to date. The Easy Driver Installer tool it says there is "no supported disk found. Please check disk is connected and format is FAT32/FAT16. {Error code: 7}". I have checked the SATA cable connection and it looks fine, though is a bit of a squash to get it in. Any ideas please? I don't have any other PC to plug the HDD into, or alternative SATA drives to check in the beebox, so I'm a bit stuck on what to try. Thanks -- BTW, I see in the manual that 2.5" drives aren't recommended in the N3000 - did I miss this on the pre-purchase information available online? Has anyone had any problems with cooling or the HDD? I had planned to use the VESA mount to hook it to my TV but that doesn't seem like a good idea now.
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parsec
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Joined: 04 May 2015 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 4996 |
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Posted: 24 Oct 2015 at 2:19pm |
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The manual warns about using 2.5" HDDs in the N3000 because it has no fans for cooling. But that should not cause the drive to not be detected. It is suggested to orient the N3000 case vertically when using a 2.5" HDD, for better cooling. That means put it on its side so the bottom panel vents are exposed, which allows better air flow and movement of hot air out of the case.
I agree the VESA mounting option seems to block the vents on the bottom of the N3000 case. If both could be modified to create a one inch gap between the VESA bracket and the N3000, that would help to keep if cool. Using a SSD would not have the heat problem that might occur with a HDD. I know, SSDs are much more expensive than HDDs for the same capacity. Just saying...  The Easy Driver Installer is looking for a USB flash drive to copy the driver installation programs to. The USB flash drive is then used to either copy the driver installation programs to a drive on the PC, or be run from the flash drive. Drivers cannot be installed until after the OS is installed. When installing a 2.5" drive, the special combined SATA data and power cable is connected to the 2.5" drive. The other end of the cable is then connected to the mother board. There are separate connectors for the mother board on the other end of that cable, the SATA data and power connections. Both of course must be connected to the board. Since the drive is not seen in the BIOS, but you can seem to hear it, I would check the data cable connection to the mother board. It may have moved out of position when you put it all back together. If possible, try using a small piece of tape to hold the data cable onto the mother board. SATA data cables all tend to fit rather loosely, and are easily unplugged. Besides verifying the cable connections to the board, which is a must, sometimes on new PCs it is not uncommon for drives to not be detected when you start the PC. I've seen it take two or three restarts of the PC before the drive is recognized. The drive will be recognized in the BIOS even if it is new and not formatted. If the drive is not detected in the BIOS, either the cables are not connected, the cable is defective, or the drive is bad. A HDD can spin up and still not work correctly. Was the HDD shipped to you? If so, did it seem to be packaged safely? The last HDD I bought and had shipped did not work when I first tried it. It spun up but made bad noises. Somehow the replacement HDD survived shipping. I would only buy HDDs from a regular store and carry it home myself. |
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stugib
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Joined: 24 Oct 2015 Status: Offline Points: 4 |
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Posted: 25 Oct 2015 at 11:54pm |
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Thanks for replying parsec
The SATA cable are firmly into the sockets but I thought I'd check them again before replying, and looks like I've found the problem   There's two wires (2nd and 3rd from left) that look to have broken, so no surprise it's not being recognised  I really don't see what I did wrong during installation, the only path that made sense for the cables to follow is round the edges underneath the RAM, but you can see how this bends the cable:   So going to have to see what Amazon say or when ASRock support reply, but seems I'm not the only one this has happened to based on another thread on here. Very frustrating, particularly as the only protection around this part of the cable seems to be a bit of fabric tape! I looked for a replacement cable just to check if it was this, but couldn't find anything suitable, so assume this is a configuration ASRock have made themselves? The SATA data cable was easy enough to find but I couldn't find the correct power cable - any ideas what it's called? I don't mind if I need two separate cables, just need to find the right thing to get. Thanks also for your thoughts on the cooling. I assumed that's what it was, but disappointing you can only find this out after purchase in the user manual! I'd have spent a bit more on SSD if I'd known, but will keep it vertical to help it out. Cheers
Edited by stugib - 25 Oct 2015 at 11:57pm |
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parsec
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Posted: 26 Oct 2015 at 1:24am |
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I read about the warning when using a 2.5" HDD without buying the PC, by downloading the manual from this PC's information page. Just saying...
 http://www.asrock.com/nettop/Intel/Beebox%20Series/?cat=Manual You're right, the SATA power cable/connector used in that PC is a custom cable. You won't be able to find a replacement cable at a PC store, since the power cable connects to the board, and this PC does not use a standard PC power supply. Since this PC is very small, and everything is squeezed in very tight, owners must be very careful with any cable routing and be certain any cables are not pinched when assembling it. You can try contacting ASRock RMA/Repair support about a new cable: http://www.asrock.com/support/index.asp?cat=RMA |
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